Cairo (AsiaNews) – Coptic Christmas is off without incidents thanks to massive police deployment around Egypt’s Coptic churches. At least 70,000 police and paramilitary forces, backed by armoured cars and special SWAT teams, are keeping Christian places of worship under a close watch. Roadblocks prevent vehicles from approaching churches and anyone entering a place of worship must show his or her identity papers.
The role of the Church is to discourage divisions among the people, regardless of existent political affiliations, and make them feel more that they are one people of God. The Church does not act as a political institution, because she would be reduced to a mere ideology. It is rather obligated to encourage awareness among the people and their leaders that personal interests must not be above the interests of the community. Do not expect that others will understand and support us if we are not to be able to do that for one another.
The Julian calendar was revised in 1923 and this version is more in line with the Gregorian calendar. Some Orthodox churches follow the revised Julian calendar but many Orthodox churches still follow the more traditional Julian calendar, which has the original dates for Christian observances prior to the Gregorian calendar’s introduction. Also, the Orthodox New Year must not be confused with the start of the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, which traditionally begins on September 1.
I was born a Moslem. I was orphaned in childhood, and grew up with my brothers. Their personalities were the opposite of mine. They liked to be with people while I was a solitary, introverted person. Although I did not know the Lord Christ, when I heard the word of God, shivers went up my spine. I sought Him very hard. Even as a child I wanted to know where the truth is, and I sought the truth, but did not know where to find it.
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Faith wasn’t a major part of Nicolae Toderica’s life when he was growing up in communist Romania. Although he was baptized into the Orthodox Church, the government’s opposition to religion led him to focus more on academics than on spirituality, he said. It was only after immigrating to the United States in 1980 that the 58-year-old Longmont resident embraced his faith, he said
